Now that I'm done with the Slice of Life stuff, join in on the next part of The Neo Genesis Arc, now featuring the return of Sana and Blaze! This is a set up chapter, though, so don't expect any action yet.

Hope you'll enjoy the chapter!


Entry 58

The Rush Adventure

''Life starts with a sunny day, let's feel our ocean breath! We are cruisin' open seas, can't wait for a new venture!''

A New Venture by Sonic Rush Adventure

xXxXxXx

Lucas had to admit that he was glad that the familiar prickling of anxiety had gradually disappeared and was replaced with complete confidence whenever he had to fulfill his duty as the Leader of Team Neos, especially when he had some exciting news for his friends. Speaking of which, said team was gathered at the Taylor Workshop, which has pretty much become the main gathering spot for them, eagerly awaiting the news.

''I got a message from Sana last night, and she and Blaze have invited us to visit them at the Surya Empire,'' he told everyone. The reaction was, as expected, filled with excitement and chatter about seeing their old friends. Despite living in a completely different country, Team Neos, mainly Lucas and Minami, decided to take charge of keeping in contact with Sana and Blaze, telling them about their adventures in Neos City and even giving them a detailed description of how to utilize Chaos Surge when Sana expressed the desire to learn how to use it.

''I can't wait to see Blaze and Sana again,'' Silver said, with Amy, who was sitting next to him, nodding in agreement. ''It feels like it has been so long since we met them.''

''I know that you're all excited to see them, but there is something we need to discuss first,'' Lucas said, drawing everyone's attention. ''How are we going to make the trip from Neos City, Starpoint Area, to Karuna, Surya Empire, considering how that country is located overseas?'' There was a moment of silence, with everyone staring at him, causing Lucas to continue, ''Before anyone says the obvious, I have checked the prices for flight tickets, which aren't the cheapest for a bunch of teenagers, as well as how long it would take us to get there, which would be around 11 hours. Sana and Blaze will be accomodating us once we get there, so we don't have to worry about where we'll stay. Still, this would be a trip we'd need to prepare for properly, not just leave whenever we want.''

''About the flight, maybe I could arrange something so we wouldn't have to worry about the cost of the trip,'' Lily said, with everyone giving her a curious look. ''My parents have access to a private plane which they use for business trips, since Rising Quest has branches in multiple countries and my parents aren't fans of commerical flights. I could ask them whether it would be fine to use it for our trip.''

''Okay, but what if they refuse? From what I'm understanding, the plane is supposed to be used for business purposes only,'' Makoto pointed out.

''True, but I have a way of convincing them to borrow it for this trip,'' Lily replied, a sly smirk forming on her lips.

''If that's so, then we still have to agree on a date. We're still several weeks away from summer holidays, but I don't think school shouldn't be much of an obstacle given our system. I had also called my parents about this, and they were fine with letting me go on this trip, so long as I'm with Sonic,'' Lucas explained, with the azure hedgehog giving him a cheeky grin.

''Dude, saying that they were 'fine with the trip' is an understatement. They were actually really excited to hear that you want to visit another country,'' Sonic pointed out. ''Besides, I think it would be best if we leave as soon as possible.''

''I think it won't be hard to get our parents' consent for this trip,'' Minami said, with the rest of the team agreeing with her. Considering the circumstances and the fact that the one who invited them for the visit was the imperial princess, it would be rude to decline the invitation.

''There is one more thing to consider, though,'' Shadow suddenly said, drawing everyone's attention. ''Have you forgotten that we would be leaving Neos City at the mercy of the Doctor?''

This caused everyone to suddenly fall silent, as they realized they sort of forgot about Dr. Eggman and the fact that he could easily attack the city in their absence. However, Sonic waved it off.

''Knowing Eggman, I don't think he'd be interested in launching an attack on the city if I'm not here. After all, that wouldn't be how the game works, and Eggman is dedicated to form,'' Sonic pointed out, confidently, with Shadow giving him a doubtful look.

''I wouldn't be as confident as you are,'' Shadow told him, arms folded across his chest.

''Oh, com'n, Shads, have a little faith.'' Sonic attempted to persuade the dark hedgehog, not at all intimidated by his steely gaze. ''Point is, this is all a game to him, and if I'm not around to provide a challenge, he won't be interested in attacking the city.''

''While that is true, I really hope that this won't be him deciding to just take over Neos City while we're away,'' Tails said, giving Sonic a look of concern.

''We could ask Rouge and Omega to keep an eye out for him. After all, Omega had been itching to annihilate Dr. Eggman,'' Touka suggested.

''I suppose we could do that,'' Shadow muttered, glancing at Sonic, who just gave him an assuring smile. He then sighed, but nodded in agreement.

''Okay, then we should go and prepare. Lily and Knuckles, you give me a call if you manage to secure the transport,'' Lucas said, with Lily and Knuckles nodding in acknowledgement.

xXx

''You want to go where?!''

''You want do do what?!''

Lily's parents were completely baffled when they heard their daughter's demand. Ever since she had brought Knuckles back home to act as her Guardian, her parents were making compromise after compromise in regards to where she was allowed to go. Only recently, they had found out what she was really up and were immediately intimidated into complying with her demands after she punched a hole through the wall of the mansion. Realizing that there was really nothing they could do to keep their daughter confined at home, they finally relented and let her do whatever she wanted as long as she was safe. They had figured that this would keep her calm and at peace, only to get hit by a sudden demand that left them stunned.

''As I had told you, me and my friends want to go to the Surya Empire and I wondered if it would be fine to take the plane you use for the business,'' Lily repeated her request.

''No, absolutely not! How can you even think of travelling into another country?'' Lily's father. Knuckles gave Lily a curious look, wondering if he should intervene, but Lily's expression told him that she had everything under control.

''Didn't you use it for vacation several months ago?'' Lily asked in a deadpan tone, leaving her parents a little flustered, only to immediately follow up with, ''But, I guess that's okay. I will have to tell the imperial princess that I'd have to reject her invitation.''

''W-Wait a moment!'' Lily's mother interrupted her. ''Did you just say the imperial princess?''

''Yeah, we were invited by the Imperial Princess of the Surya Empire, Sana Jai, personally,'' Lily clarified, a smirk forming on her lips when she saw her parents' shocked expressions. ''We actually met her a while ago when she was visiting Neos City.''

''Well, if it's the imperial princess, it would be plain rude to refuse an invitation,'' Lily's mother suddenly spoke up. Knuckles rose an eyebrow at her sudden change in attitude.

''I agree. It would be a bad idea to just reject the offer,'' Lily's father added. ''I hope you and your friends know how to behave before the princess.''

''Of course we do,'' Lily replied.

''Well, I guess that's settled. You are free to go, and please, make sure you put in a good word for our company. We could branch out into the Surya Empire,'' Lily's mother said, giving Lily a forced smile.

''Thanks. I'll go prepare for the flight,'' Lily told the two, turning on her heel and walking away alongside Knuckles, grinning smugly. ''I told you I could convince them.''

''Let me guess, they only agreed because you were invited by Sana and they want to take advantage of that,'' Knuckles said.

''You're absolutely correct,'' Lily replied. ''My parents had been telling me about the importance of connections, so I'm simply doing what they had told me.''

''They certainly taught you well,'' Knuckles commented, a grinning at her.

xXx

Lucas sighed, busy reading a book and trying to relax. Team Neos was on a plane well on their way towards the Surya Empire, and while they had managed to get everything in order, he still had that nagging feeling that something bad might happen. However, it was also possible that he was just a little nervous because he and his friends were literally travelling into a different country for the first time in their lives.

He looked up, noting how the rest of the team were either excited or just trying to keep themselves entertained during the flight. Warren and Makoto were playing a video game on the portable console Warren brought along; Touka, Lily, Minami, Amy and Silver were excitedly talking about seeing Sana and Blaze again, with Touka mostly listening to their conversation while looking out of the window, watching the landscape below; Knuckles and Tails were having a heated game of UNO; and Shadow was reading a book while trying to ignore Sonic who was pacing around the aisle the moment they were told that they could unbuckle. Despite the fact that Sonic had assured him that he was fine being on an 11-hour flight, it was obvious that the hedgehog would've preferred to run across the ocean rather than sit still for so long. He did join Tails and Knuckles for a few rounds of UNO, but then left after Knuckles won one too many of those rounds and started teasing Sonic about his loss, with the hedgehog becoming restless once again.

''Hmmm…''

Shadow's ears twitched as he heard Sonic humming, his rival having plopped himself down in the seat right next to him and tilting his head in such way that he could also read the book Shadow was reading. Shadow decided to ignore this and flipped the page, only to hear a disappointed sigh coming from his side, figuring that Sonic probably didn't read the page to the end. It didn't really make sense to Shadow that Sonic would just start reading the book while he was 1/3rd into it, but he decided to continue as if nothing happened. Another swift flip of the page, and he caught Sonic pouting, but not saying anything. Realizing that he wasn't getting his moment of peace, Shadow placed the book on the armrest between the two seats. Sonic gave Shadow a happy look, smiling at him.

''You know, if you really wanted to read the book, you could've just asked me,'' Shadow told Sonic in a deadpan tone, holding the right side of the book.

''I didn't want to bother you, Shads. I had figured I could read it in a stealthy way,'' Sonic replied, holding the left side of the book.

''Stealth isn't your forte, Sonic,'' Shadow told him in a matter-of-fact tone, with Sonic giving him a sheepish look.

''Heh…'' He then turned to the book, reading the page. Shadow decided to no longer pursue the issue, focusing on the novel he had been reading. It was only a minute or so later that Shadow then felt Sonic leaning against his shoulder, making himself quite comfortable in his seat and still sporting that goofy smile on his expression. Shadow couldn't help but smile a little, realizing that Sonic had finally calmed down.

Lucas also smiled when he saw this, turning back to his own book, but he kept thinking back to his conversation with Sana and Blaze, having called them to confirm that they would be coming. Sana had told him that she and Blaze were investigating another pirate raid and asked him whether Team Neos would join the two during their investigation, something Lucas agreed to, as he doubted any of his teammates would just ignore any opportunity for an adventure. Since they would be arriving in Karuna at evening, they would be leaving to investigate the pirate raid the next day, mainly because Blaze didn't want to waste more time as she feared that the pirates would be moving onto another target.

Lucas snorted in amusement. I guess our next adventure is basically going to be Sonic Rush and Sonic Rush Adventure. I wonder where that will go.

xXx

Fortunately, their flight to Karuna went without any issues and once they arrived at the airport, Sonic immediately wanted to leave for a run, only to get stopped when two cars that Sana and Blaze had sent drove up to them, with the drivers telling them that they would be driven to the Sun Palace, much to Sonic's dismay. He did relent after he was reminded that he doesn't know the way to the Sun Palace and sat together with Lucas, Tails, Makoto and Silver in one car, while Lily, Knuckles, Minami, Amy, Touka and Shadow sat in the other car. The drive itself was filled with people trying to get a good view of Karuna, as it turned out that they wouldn't be driving through the city due to the Sun Palace being built on a hill next to the ocean rather than being within the city. Once they had arrived, they were greeted by Sana and Blaze right at the gate.

''Hey, Sana, Blaze! It's nice too see you again!'' Lucas greeted the two, followed by the rest of the group.

''It's nice to see you all as well,'' Sana said, her and Blaze exchanging their greetings with the group, then motioning to them to follow the two inside the palace. ''I hope you aren't too tired from the flight. You can also leave your luggage in the lobby, I'll ask someone to bring it to your rooms.''

''We're fine, thanks,'' Minami said, no one in the group noticing Sonic's annoyed look as he itched to just leave and go for a run.

''You had told us that you've been having trouble with pirate raids. How bad is it?'' Silver asked.

''The situation is manageable, but we've gotten reports of robotic pirates raiding ships. Sana and I had realized that we might ask you for aid, since you would be very experienced in destroying robots,'' Blaze answered, with the group chuckling. Blaze gave the group a serious look. ''I mean it. These pirates have managed to destroy several of our patrol ships, so they shouldn't be underestimated.''

''However, I think we can talk about that later on. I'm sure that you're all hungry,'' Sana interrupted. ''My parents have actually requested to have dinner with you, because they were curious about your adventures.''

''You have told your parents about our adventures?'' Lily asked.

''Well, I kinda had to when I told them I'd be inviting you over, as well as me learning how to use Chaos Surge,'' Sana replied. ''Fortunately, they are more interested in hearing in detail how you have defeated Chaos rather than getting upset about it. They actually got the impression of you having a similar status to Blaze, being the protectors of Neos City.''

''Well, they wouldn't be wrong about that, but different than Blaze, we don't exactly have the approval of the government,'' Amy said.

''We decided to not bring up that particular issue,'' Blaze said. ''I'm glad that ARMS isn't giving you any trouble anymore.''

''You're not the only one who is relieved about that,'' Touka said. On their way to the dining room, they came across two people who were waiting for them, the group immediately realizing that they were the Emperor and the Empress, Sana's parents. Lucas was the first to bow his head in respect.

''Greetings, your Majesty,'' he said, with the rest following suit with the formal greeting.

''We're glad to finally meet Sana's friends. I hope you had a safe trip,'' Anisa Jai, Sana's mother said.

''Don't worry about formalities. Clearly, you're treating Sana and Blaze as your equals,'' Rahul Jai, Sana's father added.

''Uh, okay,'' Lucas replied, feeling a sense of relief.

''This is just to avoid any awkwardness,'' Blaze whispered to the rest of the group as they walked into the dining room. ''There were some changes after Sana and I had returned from our trip in Neos City.''

The group got seated, with the imperial family being obviously at the head of the table, still feeling a little awkward, but the atmosphere soon relaxed as they had started dinner and conversations had started.

''I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that Sana and Blaze had managed to find a whole group of friends after such a short time spent in Neos City,'' Anisa said, addressing the group. ''You're calling yourselves Team Neos, right?''

''Yeah, we are,'' Lucas answered.

''I assume you're the leader or…'' Anisa trailed off, quickly adding, ''I have noticed that you're the one speaking for the whole group.''

''He is, and you can bet that he's a great leader,'' Sonic, who was sitting next to Lucas, suddenly said. Lucas was slightly flustered by the high praise, but simply smiled in response.

''Well, a group that protects Neos City has to have a great leader. Perhaps you could tell us more about your adventures,'' Rahul said. ''Sana and Blaze had told us about an attack from a water monster that left Neos City flooded.''

''That's Chaos,'' Lily suddenly said. ''Honestly, it's a bit of a long story.''

As Lily launched into describing the battle, she was joined by Knuckles, Minami and Amy, while Anisa continued to question Lucas, Warren and Tails about their family and school life.

''That is an interesting system,'' Anisa said as Warren finished describing the school system in Starpoint Area. ''We don't use AR Fields like this here. But, that's to be expected, as Starpoint Area is the center of AR technology.''

Meanwhile, Sana and Blaze were discussing their plans for tomorrow with Makoto, Silver, Touka, Shadow and Sonic. Blaze sat upright in her chair. ''We would have to get up early to meet up with Marine at the private dock. It is about 15 minutes away by foot though, but fortunately, all of the preparations were done.''

''You had told us that you wanted to leave earlier, but decided to wait for us to arrive,'' Silver said. Blaze nodded.

''As for the trip itself, we might end up being out there for a couple of days,'' Blaze continued. ''Despite the sightings, it won't be easy to track down the pirate ships.''

''Do you have anything in mind in regards to where exactly we'll be going?'' Makoto asked. Sana tapped on her AR Visor and after looking through the holographic screen, she switched it to a map and placed it on the free space on the table for everyone to see.

''The sightings were here, here and here,'' she pointed at several parts on the map, leaving red dots on the blue screen surrounded by green shapes representing the islands. She then encircled the area with a red line. ''Basically, this is a hotspot for pirates due to many trade ships passing through, delivering food, water and other necessities to the various islands. Our plan is to act as a bait to lure them out into a direct confrontation. Blaze and I had already tried this before, but during our last trip, our ship got damaged during the battle.''

''This time you'll have a lot more firepower, though,'' Sonic said, fist-pumping. Sana nodded.

''I really hope none of you will get seasick,'' she said. Suddenly, the table went silent, with everyone on Team Neos giving Sonic a pointed look, while Sana and Blaze remained surprised by the reaction.

''Why are you all looking at me? I don't get seasick,'' Sonic said, feeling rather confused.

''Perhaps, but you don't exactly have the best relationship with areas of water that are deeper than your ankles,'' Shadow pointed out. Sonic just waved him off casually.

''Nah, I'll be fine. We'll be on the ship, won't we? There's nothing I have to fear,'' Sonic replied in a confident tone.

''I guess we'll see,'' Lucas said, joining in on the conversation while slightly amused, with Sonic pouting in response.

''In any case, that is the plan for tomorrow,'' Sana concluded, clasping her hands together. ''We might be able to catch them this time. If we do, we would remove one of the greatest threats we currently have.''

''That is really nice dear, but could you please not turn the dining room into a war room?'' Anisa suddenly said, startling her daughter.

''Ah, I'm sorry… I just thought that it would be easier to explain everything now while we're all here,'' Sana explained, a sheepish smile forming on her lips.

''I suppose we could go into the specifics once we're on the ship,'' Blaze said, glancing at Sana. Anisa exhaled sharply, turning to the rest of the group.

''This is how Sana had been behaving since her arrival. She became way more interested in participating in the defense of our empire,'' Anisa explained.

''Well, I am Blaze's partner and the imperial princess. So, it is my duty to defend my homeland,'' Sana said in a determined tone. Blaze glanced at the rest of Team Neos, her expression indicating that this was what she was talking about earlier. Clearly, Sana became quite inspired by her little adventure.

The conversation then continued until Anisa and Rahul decided to retire for the evening, with Sana and Blaze offering to show Team Neos their rooms. Lucas, Sonic, Warren, Tails, Makoto and Silver were sharing one room, while Lily, Knuckles, Minami, Amy, Touka and Shadow shared the other room. After making sure everyone knew their way around and agreeing when they'll be up, the two then left as they still had some last-minute work to do. As for Team Neos, they finally felt the jet lag and general tiredness from their journey catching up to them, immediately agreeing to go to bed, especially since they were supposed to get up early.

Well, everyone except one.

''Sonic, where are you going?'' Tails asked, looking at the hedgehog who was doing some stretches.

''I've been waiting the whole day to go for a run, so I'll do a couple of laps on the palace grounds,'' Sonic explained.

''I don't think it would be a smart idea, especially since we're getting up early,'' Silver pointed out.

''Don't worry, I'll be back in a blink. You can go to sleep,'' Sonic replied.

''Okay, but don't get lost,'' Lucas said, with Sonic just giving him a confident look and leaving for the entrance.

However, on his way there, Sonic ran past a lit room, with the door being slightly ajar. Curious, he glanced inside, only to find Blaze in what appeared to be an office room, reading some papers.

''Hey, Blaze, why are you still up?'' Sonic said, walking inside.

''I could ask you the same question,'' Blaze replied, pointing at the papers. ''I've been reading the reports that arrived today.''

''I thought you'd be fast asleep by now. It's getting late,'' Sonic replied, with Blaze sighing.

''You're sounding like Sana,'' she muttered. ''She was insisting that she would help me out, but when I told her to go to sleep, she told me that I should also go to sleep. Fortunately, I'm almost done with my work.''

''Honestly, I don't envy you nor Sana. You're not only protecting a whole empire, but also have to deal with the paperwork, which sounds really boring,'' Sonic said, tilting his head as he looked at the reports. Blaze smiled tiredly.

''This is all part of my duty. Someone who isn't used to this would obviously find it boring.'' Blaze then got up, gathering the papers. ''Although, I agree that the bureaucratic work is more exhausting than hunting down pirates. Not to mention, this is only a small cog in the wheel in regards to how the empire works. Sana's parents are the ones taking care of the matters inside and outside the empire.''

''I'm glad that I'm not an emperor, or even king. I think I'd go crazy at the mere mention of dealing with political stuff,'' Sonic said, with Blaze placing her hand over her mouth and snorting in amusement.

''I suppose it is for the better,'' Blaze said, tilting her head. ''What about you? Why are you still awake?''

''I actually wanted to go for a run, simply to stretch my legs and get some fresh air,'' Sonic replied, glancing out of the open window. ''Speaking of being right on cue…''

Blaze followed his gaze, taking note of a dark figure standing in the courtyard right below the window. Despite the darkness, her eyes were sharp enough to recognize Shadow standing there and clearly waiting for Sonic. She was surprised when Sonic suddenly leaned over the windowsill, a sense of fear gripping her.

''H-Hey, what are you doing? You'll fall off,'' she said, trembling as she tried to ignore the fact that the office was quite high up and she wasn't exactly comfortable with that fact. However, Sonic ignored her.

''Don't worry, there is a ledge I can walk on,'' Sonic said, leaping over and standing on the ledge while holding onto the windowsill. ''See ya tomorrow, Blaze!''

Blaze felt her heart beating fast as she watched Sonic leaping from the ledge onto another, skillfully navigating his path downwards and meeting up with Shadow. The two then sped off into the darkness, with Blaze stepping away from the window and quickly closing it, trying to calm down her beating heart.

Despite being the Blazing Guardian, able to wield and control fire easily and terrorizing any pirate she came across – she still couldn't get over the fact that she had acrophobia, or an intense fear of heights. Even just watching Sonic leap down from this height made her feel terrified, nervous and uncomfortable. Forcing her jelly-like legs to move, she noted to herself that she probably needed some sleep.

I wonder what Shadow was doing outside, though, she thought, only to come to the obvious conclusion. I suppose when Sonic mentioned that he would go for a run, he actually meant a race. That makes sense for him.

xXx

It was about 06:30AM in the following morning when everyone had gathered for breakfast, some still half asleep. Sana laughed, while Blaze tried to hold back her laugh, when Lily mentioned how Minami and Touka were quite hard to wake up, as both were the type of person who liked to sleep in. Shadow decided to turn this into a lesson for Amy of how to wake them up by ripping the blanket away from Touka, causing her to wake up with a start and fall on the floor. Amy decided to do the same with Minami, who luckily caught herself before she could fall off.

''Ugh, I feel like I'm gonna have a bruise from this that will last for days,'' Touka grumbled at breakfast, gaining some looks of sympathy.

''It's your own damn fault for going back to sleep after I woke you up,'' Shadow replied in an irked tone, sipping his coffee.

''You'll get a chance to take a nap while we're on the ship,'' Sana joined in a teasing tone. ''It will take us a while to get to our location.''

''No, thanks. I'm fully awake now,'' Touka replied half-heartedly.

After breakfast, they made their way to the dock, where they had already found people and ARNavs working on the ships that were there. Sana and Blaze led them to a particular one, which Team Neos, or at least Lucas, Warren, Lily, Minami and Makoto in particular, recognized.

''Woah, isn't that the Ocean Tornado?'' Minami turned to Sana and Blaze, who felt quite proud when they saw their friends in awe.

''Yeah! Honestly, it's kind of a-''

''Ahoy, everyone!''

Before Sana could explain anything, they were met by an Irregular ARNav running up towards them and waving at them. The ARNav in question was an anthropomorphic raccoon with orange fur, a white muzzle, a small black nose, and sky blue eyes with one long eyelash on each one. She had brown triangular ears with cream canals on top of her head, brown rings around her rounded tail, and brown and cream-stripe markings around her eyes. On her head, she had two upturned pigtails with brown tips that were held together by yellow scrunchies. For attire, she wore a lime green tube top with a white trim, black capri leggings, tan gloves, white socks, and lime green and orange shoes with gray soles.

''I guess you're the crew Blaze and Sana were talking about. I'm Marine the Raccoon, and I'm the captain of this ship,'' Marine greeted them all. ''I hope you're all excited for the adventure of your lifetime, because there is no one who knows these waters better than myself!''

''I suppose we can talk more when we're on the ship,'' Blaze said. ''Are we ready to set sail?''

''We're all ready! I hope that we'll find those scallywags who dared to damage my ship,'' Marine said, an irked look appearing on her expression. ''Even if they damage got repaired, I still want them to pay for what they have done. I almost had them last time, but unfortunately, we couldn't follow them.'' Marine then beckoned everyone to follow her. ''Com'n everyone! We have some pirates to hunt down!''

After everyone got on the ship, starting their adventure on the high seas.